I recently completed the Virtual Events Specialist Certification course through www.vaclassroom.com.

The course included 20 hours of video sessions, 3 general assignments and one master assignment to achieve certification.

While the course covered the more technical “how-to” process of assessing, coordinating and implementation, this is a brief summary of the benefits of holding a live event, the types of events and a general outline of how to assess which would best suit a particular client.

The course taught how to:

• Plan, produce and prepare  a virtual event
• moderate (i.e. introduce guest speaker/s, welcome guests,  assign access levels, monitor
  chat area, feed questions)
• handle technical problems anyone may have and provide information (i.e. how to mute, chat, ask questions)
• record the event
• share and repurpose the recordings

What are the benefits of holding a live event?

• They are interactive, convenient and more spontaneous than recordings, as questions can be asked and answered immediately, helping the client better understand their market.
• They are not region-based, the client can reach people from  around the globe.
• Offering free seminars leads to list building.
• Virtual events clients stand out from the crowd. They look like risk-takers with a knowledge of new technologies.
• There is no need for the participant to travel thus making it green friendly (no emissions). The participant can decide to attend at the last minute as there are no travel arrangements to make.
• There is a high completion rates for training courses.
• Virtual training events are 50-75% less expensive than live training and can be profitable with only a few attendees.
• Recordings are easily edited and customizable and can be repurposed into other products for marketing and/or passive income generation.
• FACT – There has been a 14% in increase in webinars and a 13% decrease in live events

What is a live virtual event?

There are four types of virtual events:

• Webinars – with audio and video, done over the computer or participants can dial in over the phone to listen in. When recorded they’re called webcasts.
• Teleseminars – Audio only over the telephone.
• Live Internet radio – Audio only. Once recorded are called podcasts.
• Live Internet TV – Audio & video. Can be live or recorded.

Why would someone hold a  virtual event?

• To deliver information
• To do an interview with a product owner
• Offer live training
• To do a live product launch
• Q&A sessions

Some things to consider when assessing what kind of virtual event the client should use:

• What is their motivation and business outcome?
• Have they ever delivered a virtual event before?
• The client’s comfort level using web-based technology
• Who is their target audience?
• The audience’s comfort with technology
• What level of interaction they want  during the event
• What kind of event they are planning (conference, sales meeting, multi-speaker, training program etc)

Comparing types of events

• Teleseminars & Internet radio – easier technically, only has audio, fewer buttons, speaker can multi-task, easy to replay, cheaper to produce
• Webinars & Internet TV –new tool,  technically harder, has a visual component, can be more demonstrative, higher perceived value

The Planning Process :

• Planning the event (who, what, when, where, why, how)
• Production (setting it up, creating templates re: registration page & emails, reminder emails etc)
• Promotion of the event  (autoresponders, social media etc)
• Preparation (dry run, rehearsing with client, creation of Powerpoint slides)
• Presentation (who will be the moderator? How many guest speakers will there be?)
• Post event (replays & repurposing)

For any VA considering adding virtual events coordination to their services, I highly recommend this course. It was interesting and very informative. The assignments requiring us to plan, do and record our own live events were challenging and fun!